I would assume most of you have had the experience before when you completely forget something. There are some people who tend for forget things often (my wife), and then there are those people who don't seem to forget anything (my mom). I think my mom hopes that I have inherited that trait from her, but sadly, I don't know that I remember things quite as well as she does. The case in point is a phone call from earlier today:
I decided to call home to let my mom know that my father-in-law is having surgery to remove the cancer on his kidney on March 2nd. I had just found out and I knew that my mom would want to know, so I gave her a call. My dad answered so I told him why I was calling, and asked him to let Mom know that I wanted her to be informed, because I know she cares.
Then, my mom picked up the phone, so I decided to just tell her. Then came the question, "Was there anything else you wanted to tell me?"
I racked my brain as I thought if there was anything going on in my life that she would like to know, and nothing came to mind. I thought I had been doing a decent job of keeping her updated on my life. After that brief review in my mind I responded, "Nope, I think that's it."
My dad, who was still on the line (as he has a tendency to do), responded by asking a question, "What is today?"
Duh, that's an easy question. "Thurdsday," I said.
"What else?" Then it dawned on me. Today is my mom's birthday and I totally forgot.
I wished her a Happy Birthday and when she asked what I had gotten her I lied and said it was in the mail. Because she's a mom and she has those types of super powers, she knew I was lying, so I knew I could hurry and send something to her in the mail.
I've felt terrible for the couple hours that have passed since that phone call, and then I started thinking about my mom and what she would want for her birthday. I know for sure it wouldn't be jewelry (just ask my dad - he's tried that one enough to know it's never right).
I think all she really wanted was to have me remember and to give her a call to wish her a Happy Birthday. She doesn't want any of the fancy stuff because she knows that being remembered in someone's mind is much more important than any tangible gift.
So, since I failed that simple task, I wanted to make it up to her with something I hope she enjoys. I created this blog with her in mind, so I have no problem honoring her on it.
(Truth be told, I've used the blog to poke fun at her in almost
every reference to her, so I hope this makes it up to her.)
When I think about my mom, it's hard to put into words how much I love her and appreciate all that she has done and continues to do for me. She is an example to me in so many ways, and although I don't remember all of my cousins', aunts', uncles', nieces', nephews', in-laws', or even parents' birthdays, I think I do get some of my better traits from her.
My mom is a very focused and driven person. She strives for perfection rather than simply saying it's impossible. She works on so many different things at once because that is a whole lot more productive that doing nothing. We spoke on the phone not too long ago about how different people have different quotes or ideas that they make central to their life. One was a lady who lived on our street and her motto that she lives by is "Charity never faileth" and as you watch that woman live, her life is full of love for others. I'm sure if you asked someone in your life what their personal motto was that you could definitely see it in the way they live.
When my mom told me her motto, I could definitely see its fruition in her life:
"Learn something new everyday."
My mom is always trying to learn new things to expand her understanding of the world.
I love having conversations with her about things I find in the scriptures because we are able to share with each other the knowledge that we have gained. I also love having those conversations with her because I know she loves learning as I do and that feeling is contagious.
Another reason I love my mom is because I think the family she has raised is a testament of who she is. Luckily for me, she has a blog where she likes to post pictures. Unluckily for me, she takes most of those pictures, so it is hard to find pictures that she is in. However, after combing through nearly four years worth of blog posts, I have scrounged together some pictures that I think show how great of a mom I have.
First of all, she married that goofy guy in the plaid pants.
She set an example to her children by being married in the temple.
(Not only that, she made her own wedding dress.)
She gave birth to me (the little guy on the right).
She supports my brother Ben in medical school (I'm sure he wishes that support was financial).
She the hottest nurse I know. (For more on that, you'll have to ask my dad.)
If it wasn't for her prayers, I don't know that Ben would have ever gotten married.
I'm pretty sure the same is true for me.
She is incredible supportive. It doesn't matter what it is, my mom will be there to support her kids. Whether it's school, sports, scouts, missions or anything else, you can count on her being there. She'll usually have her camera as well.
In school, my mom always pushed us to do our best, regardless of how good our best was.
(This is a picture with Brandon when he was named was of the
Top 10 Students of the Murray High 2009 graduating class.)
(This is a picture with Ben when he had his white coat ceremony in medical school.)
My mom must love going to sporting events, because it seems like that's pretty much all she ever does. I think she has said that wrestling is her favorite to watch because she can see how much her children improve throughout the year and I also think she likes the referee that looks like Santa Claus. Unfortunately, the only sports picture with her on her blog is football-related.
For me individually, I am amazed that my mom will drive to Provo (once - bottom left 2009) and Ogden (twice - top 2010, bottom right 2011) just to watch (and take pictures of) me as I've finished different marathons. It's not like running is and exciting event to watch, especially at the end of 26.2 miles, but she goes because she loves her children and wants them to know that she cares about them.
She supports her children as they serve missions and faithfully writes them each week.
(Pictures are coming to pick me up in Hungary and dropping Brandon off at the MTC.)
She supports her husband and sons in scouting. Who knows how many of us wouldn't have earned our Eagle Scout rank without her support.
(Pictures are when my dad received the Silver Beaver and at Blake's Eagle Court of Honor.)
She has been an example to me by taking our family to
the temple whenever we go on family vacations.
The California Redlands Temple
She taught me to not only work hard, but to play hard with wonderfully
planned family vacations every year growing up.
(Since Disneyland is her favorite, I had to include this picture.)
She has created many great family traditions to leave a legacy with her children.
(This picture is from Christmas Eve one year, but it's too bad that she didn't
dress up for the nativity reenactment or this would have been a picture of that.)
As I was through my mom's blog, this was actually the picture that touched me most because I think it shows a couple different things. First, it shows that my parents always try to show their children the importance of the temple. Second, it shows what great lengths they will go to do things for their children. For those who don't know, this is the temple located in Freiberg, Germany. Once I received my mission call to serve in Hungary, my parents began saving and planning a trip to come to Europe when my mission ended. While I was serving in the city of Győr, I felt prompted to tell an older member of the church there that I would take her to the temple (which was eight hours away and she was in her eighties and couldn't move very well).
I emailed home and informed my mom of the prompting I had received, which I had told the woman about. My mom's response was to make that long drive to Germany part of their trip to Europe. She could have had the opportunity to spend more time in Hungary or Prague or Vienna or maybe travel to somewhere else in Austria, but she didn't. She took time out of that expensive trip to do something for her son because she knew it meant something to him.
Mom, I know I've thanked you for this before, but thanks again.
This wonderful family truly is a testament to what a great mom you are.
I know this picture is from your 50th Birthday, but
it was the only birthday picture of you I could find.
Sorry that I forgot about your birthday when we talked on the phone today.
I love you, and Happy Birthday!
